Stream Of Consciousness
by Shimegami
Summary: A collection of drabbles, ideas, and short stories. Almost all will be KaiShin. Basically all ideas that won't be expanded into a full story will be found here. Next Up: After a rough heist, Kaito seeks shelter in an abandoned shrine. Or perhaps not so abandoned...
1. Ill Fated

Author's Notes: The first of my short story series. Some of these will be inter-related, some not. Some crack, some serious, just whatever the hell ideas pop in my head that aren't enough for a full story or that I don't have the motivation to make a complete story. Almost all will be KaiShin, but otherwise, all bets are off as to what they'll actually contain.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Aoyama Gosho.

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**Ill-Fated**

When Kaito drifted into consciousness that morning, he just had this feeling that he didn't want to get out of bed today. If he did, everything was just going to go wrong, because although he was one of Lady Luck's favorites, when she turned her gaze away from him, it was like she never existed. There was no middle ground – he either had the best luck in the world or the _worst._

His premonition was enforced when he opened his eyes and had to immediately close them again as the world swam and all straight lines seemed to be wiggling. As his mind woke further from sleep, all the other signs trickled in. Every breath felt like he was sucking it from a sponge, said sponges felt like they were growing in his lungs, his head pounded as if Tantei-kun was worrying a soccer ball into the back of his skull, even awake he felt like his mind was drifting, and his stomach was merrily informing him that if he so much as twitched, he was going to get reintroduced to last night's dinner.

Kaito was sick.

He groaned and flopped an arm over his eyes. He couldn't be sick, tonight was a heist! Okay maybe so it was dead of winter and he'd been out until two in the morning last night in the snow preparing for it, but really? Sick now? How was he going to pull off a heist like this? And he couldn't just abandon it – Kid _never_ missed a heist. He also couldn't ask Jii to fill in for him, tonight's heist was just too complicated. That had been why he'd been out so late last night anyways.

He _couldn't _be sick. Ignoring his stomach, Kaito rolled over and buried his face into his pillow with a groan. Ugh, he'd been drooling in his sleep again.

Obviously he was going to have to pretend to be not sick. First and foremost because if a certain three people found out, he'd never make it out of the house and tonight would be the first time in history Kid failed to show. That would be even more troublesome because one of those people would be Hakuba, and the damn detective would jump on that circumstantial evidence like a bloodhound. Kaito wasn't even sure how he'd wiggle out of that one, either.

The other two people were Aoko and his mother, and they came with their own slew of problems. Aoko, if she found out he was sick, would come over after school and proceed to bully him to staying in bed and then proceed to tease him as she kept him there. It was nice that she cared, he supposed, but damn she had a weird way of showing it. There were better ways to get him to stay in bed than taping scaly abominations to his door.

And his mother would be even _worse_. She was normally pretty easy-going, not caring where he was or when he came home as long as he left notes or called, but that did a complete one-eighty whenever he so much as sniffled. If she even suspected he was sick, she redefined the term "helicopter parent", never seeming to be more than ten feet away or leaving him for more than five minutes. And heaven forbid he tried to sneak past her when she was in that mood – the last time he'd tried, he'd found himself grounded and confined to his room for a week aside from school. He had no idea how she'd hidden all of his lockpicks and other supplies so thoroughly, or managed to somehow lock everything when he wasn't looking, but damn that had been the most boring week ever. Without even a deck of cards to amuse himself with he'd been about to commit suicide or just break down into tears. It was one of those times when he was forcefully reminded that she was his mother and thus knew him better than anyone, including what would hit him the hardest. That little bit of enforced fun deprivation had had him practically grovelling to her for the next month in the hopes that she never did it again. Kaito just couldn't handle being bored like that.

So, he definitely couldn't show that he was sick, otherwise he'd never get that heist done. Which meant he had to ignore how much his body was currently revolting and pretend to be perfectly fine.

It was okay, he was a magician, he'd perfected his Poker Face, he could do this, right? It would be easy.

He was forced to amend that thought as he sat up and nearly choked to death trying to hold back the explosive coughing fit that came over him.

This was going to be impossible. This was going to be the worst day _ever_.

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An hour later managed to find Kaito upright and on a steady – if slow – track to school. Never before had he been so glad for his acting abilities.

Many, many glasses of water had helped the coughing situation slightly, enough to be able to hold it back until he was out of earshot of his mother. Of course, that meant as soon as he was a block or more form his house he'd had to double over and proceed to attempt to hack up his lungs every five feet or so, but he'd brought a bottle of water and would hopefully get the fits under control by the time he met up with Aoko.

Foundation and some slight make-up managed to cover up the fact that his skin was approximately the same shade as the snow he was walking through, aside from the flushed cheeks that had merrily informed him that he was running a fever – thirty-nine degrees Celsius the thermometer had read – but the foundation covered that too. Some eyedrops to clear out the glassy look in his eyes, and a literal mountain of sugar to feign the normal boundless energy he had, and even his mother hadn't seen anything wrong. His stomach was informing him that it would soon be revolting over the fact that he'd done nothing but feed it thirteen packets of Pop Rocks all morning – the only sugar he'd had in his room at the time – but it was a necessary sacrifice. With all the water he'd drunk he'd be going to the bathroom soon anyways.

He would be congratulating himself on such a splendid acting job if he could think beyond just wanting to turn around and go back home and stayed curled under his blankets until he felt less like laying down in the snow and dying. And he had to pretend to be fine for another_ fourteen hours_ at least, until he successfully escaped from his heist. Someone shoot him now.

"Kaito! You're late! I've been standing here waiting for ten minutes, I was about to leave and go on ahead!"

And now he had to deal with Aoko. Was a Kid heist really worth this?

As his best friend proceeded to scold him at the top of her lungs – did she not have volume control? Gods his head was already pounding – Kaito had to remind himself that his work was important. He couldn't sully his father's image by letting a little thing like being sick get in the way. Besides, certainly Toichi had pulled a few heists not at his optimal best either, right?

Clinging to that little bit of reasoning, Kaito dredged up all of his acting skills as he walked to school with Aoko, managing to pass as his normal, cheerful self even as he felt the sugar wearing off and a strange sense of distance come between him and the real world. Must be the fever that was making everything feel so fuzzy. He should have taken some aspirin.

_Act normal, don't disappoint Dad_ became a mental mantra as he sat through school, only just remembering to pull a few pranks as Hakuba gave him an odd look. Kuroba Kaito, after all, never sat silently and angelically through the entire school day. Though his pranks weren't up to their usual standards, he'd managed to fib it off as the math test today and how he just didn't want Aoko screaming at him for disrupting her concentration. She'd huffed and proceeded to somehow insult him even as she complimented him for finally getting serious about school – why were they friends again? Some days Kaito really couldn't tell – and had left him alone. Her leaving him alone meant that she bothered other people, and that meant she picked Hakuba for today, and Kaito mentally thanked this one tiny shred of luck he seemed to have today. The blond was far too enamored of Aoko actually ditching Kaito to pay attention to him that Kaito's unusual restraint – the closest he ever got to listlessness – slipped from his mind completely, it seemed. All the better. That meant Hakuba wasn't suspicious, and Kaito was free to slouch in his chair and stare dumbly at his desk when no one was looking. It just got harder and harder to think as time wore on, like he was fighting through a mile of cotton candy just to process any thoughts.

Hopefully the adrenaline of a Kid heist would clear the cobwebs. Hopefully.

School finally ended after what seemed like an eternity of droning voices and several emergency trips to the bathroom – goddamn Pop Rocks – and Kaito wished he could just go home and sleep. But if he went to sleep, he probably wouldn't wake up again today, and that just wouldn't do. So he'd managed to ditch Aoko and Hakuba by setting them up on a tacit date – "A new ice cream shop just opened a few blocks away, Aoko. I'd go with you but mom wants me to do some errands. Why don't you drag blondie here along and try it out? He needs to eat more sugar, it might even make him act something close to a teenager!" – and retreat home as fast as his illness would allow.

Of course, this meant another four hours of dodging his mother, as well. Thankfully, she had been out shopping when he first arrived home, so he'd scribbled a quick note, changed clothes and grabbed up all of his heist supplies, and was out the door again before she was back, never the wiser. The less he had to act in front of his overly-perceptive mother, the better.

He spent the next few hours lounging near the heist zone, finding a book and coffee shop combo and staying there for most of it. To be honest, Kaito was hard-pressed to remember just what he'd been doing most of it, so out of it he'd been. He did know he'd been nursing some form of tea from the coffee shop for most of it, since he needed some sort of caffeine to keep going and tea was about the only thing his stomach hadn't rebelled at. He hadn't even eaten lunch, so the tea and the morning dose of sugar was all he'd taken in all day. Well, better than throwing up all over the heist target, he morbidly supposed.

The clock tower rang out seven chimes in the distance, bringing Kaito out of the semi-daze he'd fallen into in the book store. Right, time to begin the heist. Ignoring how the world had started wriggling again when he stood up, Kaito aimed himself in more or less the general direction of the heist building and started walking.

He would do this, illness or no. Kaitou Kid _had_ to appear.

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When Kaito next opened his eyes, all he could do was dazedly muse that he didn't really recognize the ceiling above him. Well, it felt familiar, but in a sort of way that told him he'd never had to appreciate it from this angle before – namely, lying flat on his back in a bed that obviously wasn't his.

His brain started cataloging the ceiling even as he tried to force himself in more awareness – plain white, no texturing, obviously Western style, maybe twenty or so years old – and tried to sit up. This was a bad plan, as the ceiling became a spinning blur, every muscle seemed to protest in agony as if he was one big bruise, and it took all his self-control to not flop over and start retching from the wave of nausea.

Right, still sick. Not good.

The pain and discomfort did wake him up a little, though. Enough to notice the faint sheen of glass over one eye. So he was still in uniform. Why? He was sleeping in uniform in some unknown house, why? Kaito felt he should probably be panicking, but that required too much thinking and energy, so he continued to stare listlessly at the ceiling.

What was he doing in uniform, anyways? He tried to groggily sort through his memories in hopes he'd discover why he was in some house and not, say, jail.

Right, Kid heist. Despite his illness, he'd just managed to complete it without any suspicion on the police's part. Hakuba hadn't been in attendance – perhaps Aoko had coerced him into spending the entire evening with her? If so, he'd have to treat her sometime in the future, a day of shopping maybe – so he'd only had to worry about the normal Task Force antics. That, thankfully, was child's play, so he'd gotten his target with no one the wiser about his current state.

Then...then...it had been time to escape, and although it had started snowing again, the wind had still be favorable, so he'd jumped off the roof to Nakamori's enraged yells and engaged his glider, and then...

And then?

Kaito felt himself frowning. That's where his normally pristine memory completely failed him. He had no recollection of what could have happened between his escape and waking up here. That was a little worrisome. Where was he?

"Ah, so you're awake."

That voice, so like his own. He knew that voice. Kaito turned his head automatically towards the source and didn't know whether to be relieved or really start panicking.

Kudou Shinichi stood in the doorway, arms crossed as he leaned against the frame, giving him a contemplative look.

That explained why he knew the ceiling but didn't recognize it – he'd been in the Kudou mansion before, but had never had the opportunity to nap in it. Mentally shaking himself away from the useless musing, Kaito licked his lips, hoping he could pull together his customary Kid mask while currently bundled up in what seemed like a mountain of quilts.

"Tantei-kun?" Kaito had to wince at the croak, was that really his voice? It sounded like he'd swallowed a whole damn swamp of frogs. His voice hadn't been _that_ bad! Was he getting even sicker? That was a sad thought. Right, Kaito, focus on the _detective _in the room!

One dark eyebrow arched, and Kudou snorted. He moved forward, and Kaito tensed under the covers, trying to force limbs that felt like cooked spaghetti into some form of readiness. If he couldn't force himself to move, he was defenseless like this.

"Seems you're even sicker than I thought. What kind of idiot goes hang-gliding when it's below freezing out? You're lucky you didn't crashland into somewhere less hospitable, like a pond or something."

Crashland? That would explain why he felt like a giant bruise. He must have passed out mid-flight, thus losing control of his glider and being blown by the wind. It _had_ been blowing towards Beika, hadn't it? It would explain why Kudou had picked him up, of all people.

Kaito hid his wince. Passing out while flying, how lame. But he'd hadn't had any other escape routes planned, and as fuzzy as his brain was, he just hadn't been able to think of any. He'd had no choice but to fly.

"Here."

Kaito blinked blearily, coming out of his thoughts – he had to stop _doing_ that, Kudou was _right there_, pay attention to the _detective_! – as Kudou held something out towards him. Kaito squinted at it, it was...pills?

Kudou huffed at his lack of response, shoving the pills closer to Kaito. "It's some pain relievers, I bet you feel every bruise you got when you crashed into my roof. It should also help with the fever. Really, Kid, not only did you decide to fly hundreds of feet in the air in freezing weather, you do it while _sick_? It's a wonder you're still alive."

The roof? Huh. Yeah, he did feel it. Trying to stifle the slightly hysterical giggles at the images that brought up – Merry Christmas, it's Santa Kid, Kudou! – Kaito finally managed to dredge up the strength to move an arm and take the medication from Kudou's hand. He wasn't sure why he was in the detective's house and not jail, but if Kudou was going to play nurse, Kaito might as well accept it. It might make him feel human again, too.

Once he had the pills, Kudou grabbed somet5hing off the nightstand and also held it out. A glass of water. Taking that too, Kaito made an involuntary noise of surprise when Kudou stepped forward, slipping an arm under him and levering Kaito into a sitting position. Kudou gave him a strange look at the noise, but otherwise remained silent, giving the water and pills a pointed look. Right.

Repressing more giggles – really, he should stop thinking about Kudou in a nurse's outfit, that was causing all kinds of weird and conflicting feelings – Kaito obediently took the pills and washed them down. He didn't even realize he was thirsty, either, until he'd drained the entire glass afterwards as well.

Kudou watched him in silence, taking the glass after he'd emptied it and setting it back on the nightstand. He then lowered Kaito back onto the bed and straightened up. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you up again when it's time for more."

As the detective turned, Kaito couldn't help the single word that blurted out. "Why?"

Why was Kudou doing this. Why wasn't he in jail. Why why why...

Kudou paused, then just sighed, the sound inaudible. "...Just sleep, Kid. I'm not going to turn you in because you have no survival sense to speak of. Once you're able to move, though, I really do expect you out of my house or I will call the police."

With that, the detective left.

Kaito wanted to protest, because that wasn't an answer at all, he wanted to call Kudou back and demand a real one, but between the medication, illness, and his own fatigue he found himself slipping into a strangely blissful sleep, full of an intense but oddly-relaxing shade of blue.


	2. Little Bird

Author Notes: This is the promised rewrad for one hundred reviews of Infinite Loop. Chapter twelve from Toichi's POV. Enjoy!

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**Little Bird**

Watching Poirot's newest waiter retreat to the kitchen, Toichi slowly pulled out his phone and entered a text that he thought he'd never have to use.

-_Baby birds have to be kept warm. Is it warm or cold?_-

Long ago they'd come up with a code to check on their personal files, as _They_ were always poking around. _Is the bird coup clean? w_as Toichi's files, _Is the safe locked?_ was for his Chikage, his last precious jewel, and _Is the library in order?_ was for his partner, the one he was texting at the moment. To any outsider, it would just look like he was texting a friend or perhaps servant about affairs in his house. To cover this he even sent a copy to his other accomplice, who wouldn't be the one to reply but would always go to his house and putter around if he got one, to lend credit to it being a servant. He'd only used them a few times before and never this particular one, all false alarms, which he dearly hoped this one was. After all, the baby bird was...

His cell buzzed with a reply, a bare minute, he must have been on the computer already. Toichi flipped it open and glanced at the message.

-_It's warm._-

He felt himself grow cold. That reply should never have come, it should have been a cold baby bird. Baby birds had to be kept warm to live, and he knew this wasn't possible now, not when the baby bird _was_ cold, he _knew_ it, because the baby bird was...

He snapped the cellphone shut. Whatever _They_ were playing at, he wasn't happy. Not at all.

He let his eyes slide over the rest of the cafe as he felt himself slip into work mode. He'd been told to case out Beika today, and he'd stopped by at one of his favorite cafes for a lunch break. Who would have thought he'd find the lead in the last place to look for it?

Everything besides the new waiter seemed in order, except...ah, there was another new face. A young man stood at the coffee counter, someone Toichi had never seen before but seemed achingly familiar, just like the strange waiter who had gone strangely _rigid_ when Toichi had looked at him. If he hadn't been a master actor himself, he probably wouldn't have noticed, as outwardly the waiter had been perfectly fine. But it was like a switch had been flipped, and nothing behind that smile had been real. It was disconcerting, like watching his own Poker Face snap into place, only seeing it instead of feeling it. That boy was a master too. And this was all shaping up to be so very _bad_.

As his strange, disconcerting waiter wasn't back yet, he contented himself with studying the new coffee boy. About the same age as the waiter, similar face, in fact they could probably pull off as twins, although they weren't as, if Toichi squinted, he could make out that whatever the kanji on the teen's name tag was, it wasn't Kuroba. The second kanji was just a blob from here, a complicated mess, but the first was simple, just three lines which probably read as...

Toichi tensed. He suddenly knew what the name was, and he wasn't reassured. At all. Because while that name wasn't as uncommon as his own, there still should be no males at that certain age with it. They were always cataloging their family names, and the only person near this age was a high school girl in Hokkaido. Definitely not the young man who was now listening intently as the older barista explained something involving the espresso machine. And now that he was looking at his face, he knew why it was familiar now, because it looked so much like his partner, his old friend...but at the same time didn't. The eye color was different, a brighter, more crystalline blue that probably gave him an amazingly intense look when he wanted it. The jawline and cheekbones were wrong, more refined, more, well, pretty, Toichi would bet that the boy was just a talent scout away from being a model with that kind of face. Maybe even already was one, if the way he held himself was any indication, as if a camera could pop out of nowhere and he always had to be prepared for it. Someone very used to being photographed, at least.

In fact, the more he looked at the boy, the less he looked like a carbon copy of his partner and more like someone else, someone he recognized as famous, but couldn't quite place it. It was the hair color that had made him think of his friend first, and he could still see it, but...now the effect was, well...more as if his friend had had a son. Or some other close relative.

Toichi sat for a moment, pondering the wisdom of asking his friend about any..._dalliances_ around eighteen years ago because he knew that he didn't have any official son. He knew the man had never really been romantically-inclined, but a night was all it took...

"Here's your coffee!"

Toichi's attention snapped back to the present, and he turned his attention to the enigma in front of him. The teen's smile was just this side of strained as he delivered Toichi's drink, setting the cup and saucer on the table – there was a glimmer of unusual reflectivity on his fingertips, fingerprint seals. "Did you need anything else?"

"Ah...no, this is fine for now. Thank you." Toichi murmured, and the boy gave him that oddly-perfect smile again, before turning and heading back into the kitchen. He noted that the coffee-boy was watching him with rather looked like concern. _Odd._..

Toichi looked at his drink. If his suspicions were correct, there was a chance it could be poisoned...but no, that was far too obvious. This was one of the haunts of that little girl detective, wasn't it? And the boy would have made himself a prime suspect being the one to deliver it. Unless he was dealing with an exceptionally dull pair, the drink was safe. Still, Toichi drank it very slowly cautiously.

The coffee-boy had slipped into the kitchen, and Toichi took the opportunity to bring out the fingerprinting kit he'd brought along for today. Just a little dusting, apply the plastic seal and he had a copy of the waiter's fingerprints. This could tell if they really were trying to impersonate...

Toichi gave his head a slight shake, flicking his hand absent-mindedly to file away the fingerprints, stuffed into a small plastic baggy. He turned slightly, and was mildly surprised to see coffee-boy dragging waiter-boy out of the cafe by the arm, a pair of bentou boxes in the other hand. The waiter's face was strangely blank. Even odder.

His usual waitress Kiyoko-chan soon popped up with a smile. "Shirobane-san, good afternoon! Sorry about the waiter change, but Kuroba-kun is having lunch right now."

"Good afternoon, Kiyoko-san." He greeted her. Now was a good time for a little prying. "Kuroba-kun, was it? Is he new?"

"Just started today." She chirped, always ready for gossip. "He and Kudou-kun apparently had a bit of a problem with lodging, so they're now living upstairs. It seems they met Mouri-chan yesterday and she offered them the place if they worked here."

Kudou-kun. He'd been right. "Is that so? How lucky for them." He murmured, inside he was thinking furiously.

Mouri-chan...? That's right, the little girl detective. She used to live here, and still frequented this cafe. In fact, Toichi had chosen this very seat because it was behind her usual one, and he could drop in to keep an eye on her. She was just too close, trying to pry too much, and he couldn't let someone so young and innocent stumble into the darkness she was trying to scrabble at. That two young boys who shouldn't exist had popped up and were getting close to her may mean that it wasn't he and his partner in the crosshairs, but _her_.

Kiyoko-chan giggled. "We're so lucky to get them, really! Kuroba-kun's so good with the customers, and he picked up everything so fast I barely had to do any training with him! Dad's already letting him handle tables by himself. And Kudou-kun is quiet, but he's doing good." Her giggle turned a little mischievous. "Besides, they're both so _cute_, it was about time Dad started catering to the girls too and got some cute boys to wait on the customers! And did you know, Kuroba-kun can do magic tricks! I haven't seen any of it, but apparently he made roses appear for Mouri-chan and Azusa-chan yesterday!"

_Magic tricks_. Pulling roses out of nowhere. A simple trick – the first one, in fact, that his little bird had ever managed, and one he'd always loved performing for the ladies. Toichi kept his smile calm, but felt that if he gripped the porcelain of his coffee cup any harder it was going to fracture.

How _dare_ they. How dare they try to twist his name into something for their use? They'd already stolen him away from Toichi, couldn't they let him rest in peace? Toichi felt a grimness settle over him. He could overlook a lot of things, put himself at a distance, but that ended when they dared try to use anything about his poor lost baby bird, his _Kaito_...

He was going to find out want these two fake boys wanted, and he was going to make _Them_ regret ever trying to use the name of the son they killed in such a way.


	3. Five Days

Author Notes: Just a cute little thing I felt like writing. Look forward to a new chapter of Infinite Loop sometime this week!

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**Five Days**

The first day had started as nothing special.

He had a heist that night, but nothing particularly fancy or foreboding aside from the possibility of the newly-returned Kudou Shinichi showing up. The thought that he might get to face off against his most brilliant rival in his true form had made Kaito grin to himself all day.

He, in fact, would have put no more thought in the matter if Koizumi hadn't appeared.

"Don't go."

Kaito stared at her blankly. He had a pretty good idea of where she didn't want him to go, but that was impossible, and besides for all he knew maybe she was talking about the ice cream parlor he was planning on visiting beforehand. "...Don't go where?"

"Don't go." She repeated. "You'll be caught."

Ah, so it _was_ that. Kaito snorted, crossing his arms behind his head as he leaned back in his chair. "Caught by what? Do you mean Kid's heist tonight? I'm flattered you still insist he's me, but I'm not Kid. Besides, Kid's _never_ caught."

"It won't be by the police." The creepy girl warned. "In fact, it will be a cage that you will waltz into gladly and stay there of your own violation, perfectly content to be a caged little songbird for the rest of your days."

"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about." Kaito said bluntly and, quite frankly, truthfully. He had no intention of being in any cage, police or no, and what was she babbling about songbirds for?

"If you go, you will understand, but you will also be caught. You shouldn't." She looked to the side, almost...sad? How odd. "That's all I can say."

With that, she turned gracefully, timed just right to make her hair flow beautifully, and Kaito was left to frown at her back. What the hell was she on about this time?

Well, he wasn't about to hold up his heists for some psycho-babble. He'd never been caught despite any of her vague warnings before – in fact he rather prided himself on disproving them all.

He let his Kid smirk spread over his features. No way would the legend of Kid be stopped by a such a silly thing as magic warnings. There was no cage he couldn't escape from.

Then Aoko kicked his chair out from under him in payback for flipping her skirt earlier and he ended up in a pained sprawl on the floor, and life resumed as normal.

The heist itself was also normal – Nakamori and his men went down fairly early, Hakuba was now lovingly rendered as a museum statue with a lovely mix of glitter and plaster so he couldn't move until someone dissolved it off of him with some water, and he'd ended up alone with Kudou on the roof, who had indeed made an appearance.

They exchanged the usual sarcastic banter, Kaito reveling in the fact that his favorite detective had come to play, when suddenly Kudou's eyes changed from the normal lighthearted sparkle they acquired during his heists to surprise and then a sort of panicked, deadly seriousness, and before he knew it Kudou had lunged at him.

"Get down!"

It was only due to being tackled by the other teen that Kaito narrowly avoided the bullet through his head. Damn, they were getting smart and starting to aim for someplace with a higher chance of certain fatality than his heart.

So now Kaito found himself flat on his back on the roof, Kudou sprawled over him as they huddled behind the small barricade the walled edge of the roof offered. One part of Kaito's mind absently noted the bullet hole now adorning the roof access's walls right at head height, it had come from behind so he wouldn't see it. Damn, they really _were _learning. The hole would probably baffle the police for a while.

The rest of his mind was taken up with gibbering about how he had a_ detective_ on top of him, practically plastered to him in fact, and this was _bad_, and something about the intense expression on Kudou's face was making it hard to really focus on anything else. Was this what Koizumi had meant? Not that Kaito probably couldn't get out of this situation, but the sniper was probably still out there and wouldn't leave until the police showed up, so for once Kaito was really hoping that Nakamori was on the ball and would be there faster than the minute he had allotted for.

He also couldn't seem to get his body under control. His heart was hammering in his chest for reasons that didn't seem to be entirely related to nearly gaining new aeration in his head but more due to the boy currently on top of him and that focused look Kudou was currently sporting made it really hard to look away. His eyes were dark and flashing and had one of the little gibbering voices in Kaito's head going off about gems and colors and which one, exactly, would be the shade of Kudou's eyes and why the _hell_ was he worrying about _that?_

All of these sensations made the minute it took for the police to arrive seem like forever, a forever of hard rooftop under his back, cool night breezes, and the moon behind Kudou's head casting a strange silvery aura around the boy.

Then the dull thunder of regulation shoes running up the stairs made time click into place, and Kaito was moving before he knew it. One hand to cover his own mouth and nose, another to grab his can of sleeping gas, spraying it into the detective's rather resigned-looking face – he'd been expecting the gas as soon as he heard the footsteps, bastard – and one foot to push off the ground and slide out from under Kudou, who slumped into unconsciousness onto the concrete. Kaito had to sit for a minute, taking a deep gasp of air to regain the Poker Face he'd lost somewhere between _gunshot _and _blue eyes_, and by the time a Nakamori covered in tinfoil burst onto the roof, Kaito was already on the ledge, customary smirk in place.

A quick glance to ensure the sniper had booked it as soon as the police arrived, a jaunty farewell, and Kaito launched off the roof to Nakamori's enraged yells.

He flew home to curl up in his bed and try to ease the gibbering mess that whole thing had left him in and to try to put the detective out of his mind.

* * *

><p><p>

The next day, the second, found Kaito preoccupied in class as he tried to understand just why, exactly, he'd reacted like that.

It was like this, with him pondering how much of his reaction had been instinctual _detective bad! _and how much seemed to be that strange fluttery feeling he'd gotten when he looked into the other's eyes, absently arcing a deck of cards between his hands as he thought, that Koizumi appeared, giving him a look that was both knowing and amusedly resigned.

"I see you ignored my warning and got yourself caught like a good little songbird."

He stopped his automatic shuffling of his cards as he looked at the girl, and then down at himself. He was here in class, not jail, police weren't bursting down the doors to his house or classroom. He was sitting here rather not-caught, if he said so himself. He then looked back at her, hoping his facial expression conveyed the proper feeling about how much _bullshit _he thought that statement was.

Koizumi wasn't impressed, instead just snorting at him. "Not all cages are concrete and metal, little songbird."

"I really have no idea what you're talking about. And what's with the songbird deal? Last I checked, you had some fascination with me being a dove or something." Really, Kaito was tired of this cryptic shit. Was there some magical binding law that required her to speak in riddles?

She chuckled. "Yes, a dove. A dove who is trying so hard to learn how to sing the tune his new master will be most pleased with."

"Last I checked, doves didn't exactly sing. At least, it's not something I've ever gotten mine to do."

"I'm sure one as talented as you can pick up a few new tricks." She replied, still strangely amused for how sad she had looked yesterday about him being 'caught'. "How odd, though, that you would choose this particular cage. I was sure that you would share it with the little bluebird, or if I had my way, continue to fly free so that one day the cage would be mine. But it seems you've picked a far different destiny with a clever raven."

"...Right." Kaito was really fucking lost by now. What was with her and bird metaphors? "I don't particularly like ravens."

"No, you don't like crows. There is a difference between them and the wise ravens. Crows flock, squabble, fight ugly wars, but the stately raven is poised, always watching from above with a wise eye. They remember everything, you know. Collect knowledge like a magpie collects bits of light. A raven understands and appreciates tricks, but they look so similar so many people confuse them." She paused, looking out the window. "And this raven is far more clever than most."

Rubbing at his temples – the action was not entirely faked, this shit was giving him a headache – Kaito just sighed. "What do ravens have anything to do with this? Would a straight answer kill you? And stop with the cages thing, I'm not caged."

Koizumi laughed, a tinkling sound that always gave Kaito a faint case of the creeps. "Not yet, perhaps, but you're inside it, inspecting it to see if it's to your liking, and soon you'll latch it shut behind you and live there quite happily. Ah, as it's already started however, there is little I can do to alter it. You had best learn to sing fast, little dove, or your raven will get bored and settle for a different cage mate. Ravens are very particular about the songs they like, so it's best to find the one he likes the most as quickly as you can. Take care, my aspiring songbird."

With that, Koizumi turned and walked towards her desk, waving lazily over her shoulder, and Kaito was left trying to figure out what the hell that had been.

Well, perhaps best just chalked up to Koizumi being...Koizumi and leaving it at that. If he tried too hard he just got headaches.

The distraction had helped him with the Kudou problem, though. He was no longer thinking in circles about that. Though, now that he thought about it, he'd better do some lurking around the other teen to see if it had just been that particular night that had affected him so oddly.

He flicked his hand, making the cards disappear, and settled into the school routine with more ease. He had a detective to stalk after school.

* * *

><p><p>

The third day found him once again stalking the detective after school.

It was harder than it looked, as Kudou seemed to have eyes in the back of his head when it came to being watched. Kaito had known this from Conan, but it still made it damn hard to not set the teen off into a paranoid frenzy. He wanted to observe Kudou casually, and he couldn't do that if the teen was convinced he was being followed.

He hadn't been able to learn much yesterday – Kudou had run into a murder, and spent most of the afternoon in the police department doing paperwork for it. By the time he got out, the sun had set and Kudou had gone straight home.

Today, however, he seemed to have plans, hopefully ones that did not involve grisly crime scenes – yesterday had been..._ugh_. How did Kudou stand it? He hadn't looked bothered at _all _– and so Kaito hoped to have a better chance today.

Kudou checked his watch and came to halt outside a small cafe. Kaito meandered over to a knickknack store across the street to keep an eye on the teen. Was he meeting someone? It looked like it.

Ah, there. Kudou had turned and spotted someone, obviously someone he knew if the small but sincere smile that stretched across his face was any indication. Kaito followed his gaze.

Ah. Mouri. The girlfriend.

She was waving her arm as she jogged up to the detective, pretty face bright and open with a smile. Kaito wasn't close enough to hear her words, but he managed to catch the gist of it from her lips – an apology for keeping him waiting. Odd, wasn't Kudou the one that usually ran late? He could swear he'd heard her complain about it in one of his surveillance runs...ah, her karate uniform was hanging from her hand with her school bag. Club practice, then, that was why she was later.

But that wasn't the problem. The problem was the strange and altogether unexpected swirl of feelings that hit him seeing Kudou standing there with the girl, looking so happy. There were so_ many_, from the urge to walk over and drag Kudou away from the girl and recapture his attention as fully as he did on his heists, to the wonder that Kudou could smile like _that _and not just that hunting, knowing smirk, and the one rather close to despair at how he was ever going to complete with someone like Mouri, beautiful, bright, perfect Mouri that Kudou had known forever.

It left him reeling, confused, and feeling a little sick as he realized with a sinking feeling what those feelings _meant_.

It was as clear a case of jealousy as you could ask for. And he was jealous of _Mouri_, because of _Kudou_.

It made everything make so much more _sense _now. Why he loved having the detective on his heists. The thrill that Kudou gave him, not entirely from just a meeting of equal minds. It also explained that strange reaction he'd had when Kudou had tackled him to the roof the other night.

And he could do nothing about it, since he was a freaking _thief,_ someone Kudou chased to put in jail, and Kudou had that pretty, perfect girl right in front of him.

The only highlight of this situation was that at least he had solved his little mystery, but now he wasn't sure it was such a blessing.

Not really wanting to watch Kudou and Mouri have their little date, not now, when he'd finally realized so much, Kaito turned, walking back towards the train station.

* * *

><p><p>

It took most of the fourth day for Kaito to realize that he was sulking.

After his nasty little shock yesterday, he'd gone straight home and proceeded to stay under the covers the rest of the day. He'd worried his mom sick, however, so he'd forced himself out of bed the next morning and to act cheerful even if he didn't really want to.

It was lunchtime when Aoko tentatively approached him – funny, he hadn't talked to her all day, he only just realized – and when she hesitantly asked him if anything was wrong, Kaito managed to snap out of the depressed funk he'd worked himself into. He hadn't pulled a prank all day, done a trick, hell he hadn't even juggled or shuffled cards or any of the minor exercises he always did when his hands were free and his mind elsewhere. It was, apparently, eerie enough for Aoko to act _concerned_ and _delicate_ around him, which was just _weird_.

Still, he really didn't feel like talking about it with Aoko. Maybe it was a holdover of keeping Kid secret from her, but he always found it hard to talk to her about sensitive subjects lately.

Not that he really had anyone else to talk to about them, which was maybe a part of his problem, but he couldn't regret his sacrifices now.

He sent Aoko off with a cleverly-timed insult and skirt flip, and sure enough she stomped off shrieking about how she didn't know why she worried about him because he was such an idiot anyways and Kaito was left to continue his funk in peace, except now he realized he was sulking and that wasn't good. Kuroba Kaito didn't sulk!

Of course, this just left him open to other intruders. He stretched, leaning back in his chair, and yelped in surprise when he opened his eyes to Koizumi leaning over him, smirking at him. "Koizumi! Don't scare me like that!"

She just gave him a mysterious smile. "It looks like you've finally seen your cage."

"Huh?" Kaito blinked, before everything she'd been cryptic about for the past two days snapped into place. "You were talking about that?"

She giggled softly at him. "Of course. What else would I be talking about, songbird?"

Kaito scowled at her, righting his chair. "If you didn't speak in some weird moon language maybe I would have understood. Besides, no cage is permanent."

"It will be if you let it." She tilted her head. "...Although you're not trying very hard. I thought I told you to practice harder? You'll never win him over like this."

"I doubt you see such things in your crystal ball, but he's rather _taken_." Kaito sniped, not in the mood to really deny all of this.

The witch just tilted her head, putting a finger to her lips. "Is he?"

"Of course he is..." But even as he said, Kaito trailed off. Was Kudou _really_ dating Mouri? Come to think of it, while he was sure they were a pair, he'd never heard or seen anything official between them after Kudou returned from being Conan. No kissing, no hand-holding, no gossip even, and that would have flown all the way to even his school. But if they weren't dating, then...?

Koizumi resumed smirking at him. "Perhaps you should look a little closer next time. But even losing one day isn't too much, you'll just have to fly over there and make up for lost time. You'll just have to be your usual clever self and I'm sure you'll think of something." She turned and starting walking off, waving over her shoulder like last time. "Oh, and reassure the bluebird, will you? You're not a mourning dove."

Kaito rolled his eyes at her, because that was just a _lame_ pun, but even so he felt his mood brightening. Even if she was creepy, Koizumi wasn't all that bad. Maybe even a friend, if he thought about it. Still creepy, though.

But she had been right. Maybe he had hurried off a little fast yesterday. After all, if nothing said Kudou and Mouri were _officially_ dating...well then, that meant he was open, didn't it? And yes, he was a thief, and Kudou a detective, but he was a phantom thief above all, and Kaitou Kid just didn't back down from _any_ challenge.

No matter how much he had to cajole, worry, or otherwise charm his newest target, he'd get what he wanted, in the end.

Kaito let a grin spread across his lips, and with a flick of his wrist, coated the room in feathers, making Aoko squawk in outrage. Time to make some plans.

* * *

><p><p>

The fifth day had him hovering outside Kudou's school as the bell signaling the end of classes rang. It was Friday, so he had the whole weekend to launch his newest plan he'd spent all afternoon yesterday thinking up. It was a little different than usual, and harder, but then again Kaito didn't really have any experience in planning romance after all.

He leaned against the gate, watching as students started filing out of Teitan High. Hands in his pockets, he couldn't help the nervous jiggling of one of his legs. He wanted to fidget with his hands too, maybe pull a few tricks, but that would draw too much attention. He knew Kudou got embarrassed easily, so he didn't want to drive the boy off before he latched on.

Still, he was nervous, and it was such an odd, foreign feeling that he'd had to move somehow to get rid of the energy, so the leg-jiggling. And he was usually extremely patient – even if he didn't look it – but man Kudou was taking forever.

After what seemed like an eternity – his watch had to be lying, no way it was only two and a half minutes – he finally saw Kudou appear, the little distinctive cowlick catching his attention first. He was walking out with Mouri, and Kaito had to once suppress the urge to walk up and just drag Kudou off. No, first impressions were important, no dragging him off like a psycho on the first meeting! Afterwards, however...

However, the two split before even reaching the gates, Mouri moving to walk with another teen – a boy, Hondou was it? He'd come back to Japan it seemed – and Kaito couldn't explain the feeling he had when he saw her smile and blush prettily at her new companion. Hondou, for his part, looked elated, and Kudou was waving them off with a casual smile. It felt a lot like elation and triumph mixed into one big, happy ball in his chest.

Koizumi had been right, he had wandered off too fast that day. If he had any talent at reading people, and he liked to think he did, than Mouri and Hondou, if not already, were probably going to be an item very soon. Which left the path to Kudou wide and clear.

Letting his customary grin spread across his face, unable to fully suppress it really, Kaito snapped to attention as Kudou neared the gates. Showtime.

He stepped forward – maybe bouncing just a _little_ – and the movement caught Kudou's attention just like he planned, the detective giving him a glance, then a confused look as Kaito came right up to him.

Steeling his nerves and keeping the grin on his face, Kaito swept into his best showman's bow, producing a red rose for the detective.

"I'm Kuroba Kaito, nice to meet you!"

* * *

><p><p>

Reviews always appreciated.


	4. My Fair Lady

Author Notes: Just something silly. Not too pleased with the ending, but eh.

* * *

><p><p>

**My Fair Lady**

Ran sipped on her soda as she watched the disaster slowly unfolding in front of her eyes. Sonoko was sitting next to her, and if the steady tapping of one finger on the table was any indication, once their third member joined them, the blonde was going to have a lot of things to say about this. Wincing at the thought of the imminent explosion that was likely to cause, Ran once again turned her attention to the spectacle.

Her other best friend since childhood, Kudou Shinko, was currently held up from coming to their table by a group of young men, all very interested in hitting on the high school detective. Shinko, for her part, looked completely confused as to why she was swarmed by men, and more than a little irritated.

Ran sighed. Normally Shinko's obliviousness to romance was hilarious, but at times like this was just a little sad. She was a deductive genius, and yet she couldn't seem to understand that the reason seven guys were crowded around her was not because they were particularly impatient to pick up their food.

Another five minutes and seven broken hearts later, Shinko finally made it to the table with a huff. "Some people...why would I sit with them when I have friends waiting for me? They have their won friends to sit with, they don't need me!"

That was enough to trigger the Sonoko explosion. The girl slammed her hands on the table, staring at Shinko in a mixture of disbelief and disgust. "You...how can you be a detective and this dense!"

"H-Hey, I'm not dense! What brought this on, Sonoko?" Shinko scowled at the blonde, crossing her arms defensively.

Sonoko's eyebrow twitched, and she jabbed a finger at the detective. "Those boys...were _hitting_ on you. Romantically. Like most boys do when they're around you! How do you not notice this? You're such a waste of a pretty face!"

The blink Shinko gave at Sonoko's proclamation was almost comical, before she blushed furiously and squawked. "No way! They were just asking me to sit with them, that's not..."

Sonoko buried her head in her hands with a frustrated sound. "Arrrrgh! And just why do you think they wanted you to sit with them!"

Another blink. "...Because they're fans, maybe...?"

Ran covered her mouth, hoping her snickers weren't audible. Okay, now it had moved from sad to hilarious. Sonoko looked up at Shinko in disgust, then covered her eyes. "Famous detective...brilliant at solving cases...completely oblivious...how is it possible..."

Shinko shrunk back, still frowning with her arms over her chest. "Even...even if they were doing that, I wouldn't! None of them would interest me that way..."

Sonoko latched onto this new topic with a gleam in her eye – despite years of trying, neither she nor Ran had ever managed to drag what kind of man Shinko would go for out of the girl. "Oh? They were all pretty cute, so why not?"

Shinko shifted uncomfortably, looking away. "It's...it's not looks...I'm not going to go out with a random guy off the street, is all! Besides, the first thing I want to be sure of is how well they can keep up with me, not how pretty they are."

"So it's the mind first for you, eh?" Sonoko settled into a thinking pose that Ran recognized as Operation Get Shinko A Boyfriend, a very..._very_ long operation Sonoko had been campaigning on for years. "How about any of your fellow highschool detectives? Like that Hakuba fellow we met the one time...he's really nice to look at, and he's a detective, so you can't claim he's stupid. Or maybe Hattori-kun? Well, he has Kazuha-chan though, but someone like those two?"

"Hakuba's too stuck to the book, not enough creativity." Shinko dismissed that with a wave, then grimaced. "And Hattori is...I mean, yeah, he's not bad-looking, but he's...Hattori. And he does have Toyama. I haven't met any other highschool detectives on their level yet, quite frankly."

"Well if detectives are a no-go..." Sonoko sighed in aggravation, before suddenly going thoughtful. "Hum...smart, able to keep up with you, handsome...you have some high standards."

Shinko frowned. "Keeping up with me isn't that special. I mean, that freaking thief can get away from me, so there has to be more than one out there."

"Aha!" Sonoko snapped her fingers and pointed at Shinko. "That's it! Kid-sama! What about him?"

Both Shinko and Ran stared at Sonoko in light of this new outburst rather as if their friend had suddenly turned into some new undocumented species in front of their eyes. Shinko sputtered. "Ki...what? Why the hell would I ever go for that thief!"

Despite Shinko's exclamation, Sonoko was already in full-on matchmaking mode, hands clasped. "Why not? He's brilliant, you've said so yourself, so the mental department isn't any bother! And since it's Kid-sama, he's bound to be handsome! He's perfect, but of course, he _is _Kid-sama, so that goes without saying..."

Shinko growled. "You're forgetting the little bit where he's a _wanted criminal_."

"Details, details, besides you can't say he's a real criminal like a murderer or something. He does always give back what he's taken, after all." Ignoring Shinko's sputters about all of this, Sonoko folded her arms in thought. "But catching the attention of Kid-sama is hard, look at how much I've tried...of course, I'm not running after him like you do. Maybe we can work with that...and, if he notices how pretty you are, maybe he'll take the time to appreciate the rest of his crowd and notice _me_!"

Sonoko had by now degenerated into starry-eyed fan, and Ran just covered her eyes as, sure enough, Sonoko started ranting about her newest plan to ensnare Kid by attracting his attention with Shinko, and then showing up beside the girl to 'out-do' her and blow him away by her beauty, or something. Shinko, for her point, was looking more and more horrified by each second.

Why couldn't she have normal friends? Ran wondered for a moment, before dismissing it. If her friends were normal, it wouldn't be this amusing.

* * *

><p><p>

Despite Shinko's best protests, Sonoko had marched ahead with her plan with the force of a steamroller. So, that Friday night found them at Kid's heist to put the first step into motion.

Ran had to privately think to herself that maybe Sonoko was over-estimating herself. While she was certainly looking beautiful tonight, to 'attract' Kid's attention she had gone full-out on dolling Shinko up, and quite frankly the result was stunning. Sonoko had questionable tastes in a lot of things, but beauty and fashion weren't some of them. And she had rather outdone herself with Shinko tonight.

Shinko stood to Sonoko's left, blushing as she'd been getting a lot of looks all night. Her hair was half pulled up with a delicate blue and silver butterfly clip that stood out nicely against her long dark hair and matched her eyes. The style looked careless but let her hair fall more artfully than it normally did. Her clothes consisted of a shimmering blue tank top that was nicely form-fitting, overlaid by a white knitted jacket that was patterned into lace, buttoning just below her chest. A gauzy, flowing skirt that ended just above the girl's knees was the lower half, and she was wearing white and blue strappy sandals that had just a bit of sparkle in certain places – flats, the only concession Shinko had managed to wrestle out of Sonoko.

This was all topped off with several pieces of delicate silver jewelry and a minor makeup job that brought out her eyes with all of the blue and really proved she was her mother's daughter. She looked gorgeous, and everyone was noticing it.

It was all making Shinko feel terribly uncomfortable, and Ran felt a little bad for her friend. Still, even Ran couldn't stop Hurricane Sonoko once formed, and at least she had managed to talk Sonoko into going for pretty and delicate rather than sexy. She was pretty sure they would have never gotten Shinko out of the house if Sonoko had brought over what she had originally picked out.

It was getting close to the heist time, and Shinko unfolded her arms with a sigh. "...I should probably get going, I still have to pass the Nakamori gauntlet."

Sonoko turned from her rapt attention of the sky in search of Kid and pushed Shinko towards the building none too gently. "Go on then! Make sure he sees me!"

Shinko just rolled her eyes at that, and Ran hid a giggle behind a hand, instead just smiling at Shinko. "Good luck."

"Thanks, Ran." Giving her a smile, Shinko turned and was soon swallowed by the crowd as she headed for the building of tonight's target. Sonoko returned to scanning the sky and cheering wildly every few minutes.

Ran too looked up the sky, wondering if thief would notice the difference, as Shinko usually showed up to heists in jeans and t-shirts and sneakers – practical things for chasing an acrobatic thief, but not the most flattering or eye-catching, to be sure.

She wondered what he would think of it.

* * *

><p><p>

Shinko stood with the rest of the Task Force, arms crossed over her chest as the minutes ticked down to Kid's appearance. Nakamori had spent five minutes yelling at her, which was faster than normal at least, but now here she was, ready to try to, once again, capture the brilliant, twisted thief that was Kid.

Normally she felt excited, but now...just uncomfortable. Ugh, it was cold, she hated skirts, and she was getting funny looks from some of the younger Task Force members. Ugh! This wasn't her idea!

Grimacing to herself, Shinko shifted and tried to tug the skirt lower, wishing Sonoko had chosen pants at least. It wasn't exactly summer! And the dratted girl had filched all of her undershorts, so she couldn't dare to pull anything too active running after Kid this time...the thief would probably get away because of fashion. _Fuck_ fashion.

Suddenly the air seemed to snap with tension, and Shinko realized that it was only a minute to Kid's predicted arrival and everyone was growing tense in the last seconds. The worries of her outfit fleeing her mind for the moment, Shinko straightened, eyes flicking over everything, picking out the smallest movements. How would Kid arrive...?

It seemed to fall into dead silence when the wall clock's hand ticked to to twelve, changing the hour.

The next second chaos erupted.

Kid had, apparently, decided to announce his presence with a bang, literally, and many officers yelped in surprise as their uniforms burst into smoke and glitter, replaced by various outfits of bright, garish colors and even some animal suits. Kid was in a playful mood tonight, it seemed.

Shinko skittered backwards to avoid being the next victim of an outfit swap – although as long as it had pants she would be hard-pressed to truly be annoyed, _hated skirts_ – and looked around. Where was the thief...? Ah, there...!

Sure enough, in the confusion, he'd taken the chance to hop lightly on top of the target's pedestal, crouching over the gem with that same smirk on his face. He seemed to be oddly focused on Nakamori at the moment, but that was just fine for Shinko as it meant nothing embarrassing would be happened to her as long as the thief's attention was elsewhere – well, more embarrassing than this dratted outfit.

Nakamori roared, the police rallied, and the usual Task Force antics ensued. Shinko saw the faintest slip of a shadow away from the pedestal just as the Task Force bolted forward, animal suits and all, in an attempt to tackle the thief.

It ended predictably, and with a lot of what looked like popcorn, and Shinko moved towards the staircase she'd seen the shadow dart towards. At least she'd talked Sonoko into flats, who knew how the hell she would have run up these stairs in the heels the other girl had originally wanted.

Five flights of stairs later found Shinko on the roof, to see Kid on the edge of the roof, apparently making a showy appearance for his fans as he hadn't arrived by hang-glider this time. She strode towards the thief, stopping about ten feet away, feeling rather self-conscious.

Kid's chosen target was hosted in a building that was only five stories tall and dwarfed by most of the buildings around it, and the retaining wall was a bare few centimeters high, making Shinko question why it was there at all, really. Obviously Kid couldn't escape by hang-glider, but no doubt he had five other routes planned depending on how this little confrontation ended up, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that the roofs of the surrounding buildings were crowded with fans and reporters, and they were watching this whole thing. And she was in a skirt.

Kid chose that moment to turn towards her, the smile on his face the same as always. "Good evening, miss. I am pleased you could grave me with your company tonight."

Shinko frowned, he was being unusually...polite? He normally didn't bother with the whole mysterious gentleman shtick in front of her. "Drop it, Kid. Everyone's watching, but we're the only two on this roof. You're not getting away tonight."

The grin widened, and Shinko had a sort of forbidding sense. Somehow this just wasn't to end well, was it? The thief swept into a bow. "So eager to enjoy my company, my lady?"

"Oh yes, every minute fills me with joy." Shinko deadpanned, subtly moving a few steps forward. There might be a chance to dart him if he kept with this strange showy mood. She fingered her wrist for the familiar device Agasa had made for her to "defend her honor" or something. He had weird ideas.

She paled when her fingers found nothing but delicate chain. Right, Sonoko had claimed the thing "too clunky" and forbidden her to wear it, and all she had was this flimsy bracelet! Damn Sonoko!

She scowled down at her outfit, tugging again at the skirt – _fucking fashion_! – and then snapped her gaze back up. Taking your eyes off Kid was bad – very bad, as somehow in the second she'd looked down he'd moved from the edge of the roof to _right in front of her_. She hadn't heard him move!

Kid looked...oddly serious, even with the smile on his face – was it warmer than usual? – as he took her hand. "Far be it from me to deny a lady her joy, then. I must admit, I am pleased you have finally dressed up for one of our dates, though."

Shinko opened her mouth to ask what exactly he meant by _dates_ when suddenly her brain shorted when Kid pulled her closer, into an embrace. She seemed to have frozen, as none of her limbs seemed to be obeying her commands to move, do _something_. In fact she could only watch in stunned surprise as Kid's face inched closer.

_Sonoko is going to __**kill **__me, and oh god, there's cameras, I am so dead when Mom sees this_ were the only thoughts Shinko could manage as warm lips pressed against hers and Kaitou Kid kissed her.

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><p><p>

Reviews always appreciated.


	5. Four-Times Cursed

Author's Notes: I saw some fanart, and in popped this story idea. I might continue it when I've made more progress on Loop and older fic rewrites. I just wanted to do something cute and funny for now, since Loop's next chapter is being irritating. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Four-Times Cursed<strong>

Kaito cursed the foul weather as he ducked into a small wooded area off a residential district, trying in vain to wipe his monocle clear with a wet glove as raindrops sluiced off his sodden top hat in small rivers. He just hoped he'd lost anyone pursuing him for now – not only was he out of tricks for the moment, his suit was currently doing a very good impression for a wet t-shirt contest. Water and white did _not_ mix.

It had been just fine earlier! He'd flown in for his heist with a clear sky and dramatic full moon behind him, and the heist had gone fairly smoothly. But, sometime during his heist, rainclouds had blown in with a fury and by the time he was ready to make his grand escape it had turned into a veritable mini-squall outside.

This had proved a hassle, as flying in this sort of wind and rain with his glider – his original plan of escape – would be just asking for an accident. He hadn't planned for other routes, and he was also cursing his lack of foresight now as it had led to some very creative stunts trying to escape a building teeming with police officers by way of the front door. And Hakuba had been there, and he hadn't had any disguise materials on him at the time due to the nature of the heist, and it had just been a pain in the ass as he'd had to basically smoke bomb an entire city intersection and set off everything attention-grabbing in his arsenal to distract the police and crowds as he'd slithered through them. He'd found himself wishing for once that he wasn't so popular – while the crowd had lessened due to the sudden rain, there still was a sizable portion left to watch his heist, through wind and rain, and these were of course the die-hard fans who had gone crazy when they realized he was out the front door and in their midst.

As it was, he'd barely escaped with his freedom – and all his costume, there had been quite a few grabby hands – intact. Then came the running. Forced to go on foot due to the weather – and of _course_ this would be the one heist he hadn't planned on using any umbrellas in his tricks – he'd then had to run from some very determined cop cars. This was the closest shave he ever wanted to have.

But the police sirens were wailing very far away now, their sound almost completely muffled by the wind and rain, and even his considerable senses were picking up no trace of pursuit through this weather. So, he was probably safe for now.

Not that he could go home, not in this outfit and weather. That was just asking for it. No, he'd have to wait out the rain and Nakamori's persistence and return home in the early hours of the morning. School was going to be a bitch tomorrow, the prices he paid for his art...

Sighing and mumbling unpleasantries to himself, Kaito set about examining where he was and if there was any part of it that was slightly less wet than where he was now.

He was in a tiny forest, nothing more than a grove that had been left undisturbed by the development around it. Ascending a small hill, slipping on pine needles, he found out why – a small temple sat in the center, a building with maybe one room and that was it, more of a shrine really. It was very old, although rather ill-kept by modern society, and obviously no one had been here for a long time. The words on the wooden sign before it were too weathered to make out in the intermittent flashes of lightning nor was the city light enough to read by through the trees.

Right now, though, Kaito didn't really care enough to pull out a flashlight and check. What he did care about, however, was that despite the building's age and disrepair the walls and roof were solid, and that meant there was no rain inside, which meant it was not _wet_. And Kaito had had quite enough of wet right now.

A quick glance to make sure he was really alone, and Kaito stepped up to the building, hopping up on the small porch and opening the doors. There was nothing inside except the small altar at the back of the room, and as Kaito slipped inside and shut the door behind him, the sounds of the rain outside were almost completely muffled and he was left in almost complete darkness, nothing but his breath and the sound of his cape and clothes dripping forlornly on the floor to accompany the drone of the rain.

It was a little bit creepy, he had to admit, but it was _dry_, and warmer than outside, and no one would likely find him here. With a groan he flopped onto the floor, a part of his mind dully noting that despite the disrepair of the outside, the inside seemed surprisingly well-kept and no dust was on the floor. At least that meant his suit wouldn't get any more ruined than it already was, at least. Kaito was really beyond caring at this point.

Leaning back against the door, Kaito let his head fall back and thump against the wood as he closed his eyes. He should probably do something about his wet clothes or he was going to catch a cold, as it was he was extremely uncomfortable. However, it was hard to muster the energy to care. He was just so tired. Of so many things. Tonight hadn't been Pandora either. He was a teenage boy, he was supposed to be out and enjoying the start of his weekend with Aoko rather than spending it stealing jewels and listening to her rant about his alter ego. How much was he going to give up until he finally found it...?

He must have dozed off, because his thoughts disconnected somewhere and the next thing he knew he was blinking his eyes open to the darkness of the shrine, a niggling feeling of being watched setting all his nerves on edge. The sound of rain was gone, and his clothes felt drier as well, how long had he been out?

He looked around for the source of the feeling, but the darkness made it impossible to see. Hoping he wouldn't be illuminating Nakamori and the rest of the Task Force – as his top hat had slid off sometime during his impromptu nap and he couldn't seem to find it in the darkness – Kaito slid a small flashlight out of a hidden pocket and flicked it on.

A sweep of the shrine revealed it as still empty, but the feeling didn't go away. If anything it increased. Feeling considerably more nervous now, Kaito rose to his feet, wincing as pangs shot through his body. Screw only turning nineteen a few months back, he was getting too old for this shit. Well, he would just collect his top hat and be on his way, creepy abandoned shrines be damned. Kaito flicked his flashlight down to find it.

His top hat was missing.

Feeling his mouth dry, Kaito shone the flashlight on every possible crack and crevice in the small room, but no top hat was in sight. He had been leaning on the firmly-closed door, there was no way it had fallen outside. He was too light a sleeper, he would have woken up if the doors had moved as much as a centimeter. But the truth was that his top hat was gone, and absolutely not anywhere on the floor of the room.

Kaito froze, swallowed, hoped he wasn't making a really stupid mistake, and slowly raised the flashlight towards the ceiling of the shrine.

The next few events happened so fast that Kaito would be hard-pressed to remember them in the future as anything but a blur, even with his perfect memory. All he really knew was that _something_ suddenly flew at him as soon as he illuminated the ceiling with his light, something with lots of pointy things that disturbingly looked like teeth and a huge body that didn't seem to be made of anything but shadow and a howl that went through his bones. Kaito vaguely remembered screaming – a very manly scream, and certainly not a high-pitched shriek – and throwing the last bit of his Kid arsenal, a flash bomb, at the _Thing_ on instinct even as he dived and prayed.

There had been a high-pitched yelp of surprise at the flash, and Kaito hit the wall with his own yelp, finding himself on the floor with what would undoubtedly be a new nasty bruise on his shoulder. That wasn't what he was concerned at the moment however. Scrabbling the flashlight back up from where he'd dropped it when he'd ran into the wall, Kaito swung it around wildly at the direction he'd last seen the _Thing_ coming from. His light landed in the middle of the room and he froze.

There, right in the middle of the floor, was a small child, a boy, maybe around six or seven. He was sitting on the floor, dressed in a rather tasteless little suit-jacket-with-bowtie-and-shorts combo and rubbing at his eyes as he proceeded to say some very unchildish things in his young voice. It was so incongruous with what had just happened that Kaito had had to stare for a moment, but what really caught his attention wasn't really the fact that the boy was there.

No, what really caught his attention and was causing him to gape rather like the scaly horrors he so detested, was the long, black, bushy tail poking out from behind the kid. And the ears. Two long pointed ears sat on the kid's head, covered with the same black fur, and pulled back in the universal symbol for animal annoyance. And, being a master of costumes and disguises of sorts, Kaito could say with a great deal of befuddled certainty that the tail and ears were quite _real._

What.

The boy finally seemed to recover his sight and senses, as he blinked rapidly in the light of Kaito's flashlight. He wore a befuddled look for a moment, before his gaze fell on Kaito, who was still laying where he'd fallen, rooted to the spot by sheer dumbfoundment. Poker Face had been cracked by the weather, and had just packed up its bags and left when the shadow too-many-teeth _Thing_ had attacked, and was loathe to return when faced with a little boy that had apparently stepped out of some anime and Kaito would have thought he'd gotten lost going to the nearest convention if everything weren't so horrifyingly _real_.

The kid's eyes widened slightly when he saw Kaito, before they narrowed in anger – and oh man, were those _slit pupils_? – and the growl that came from the boy's throat did not sound in the _least _human. Kaito had a very distant realization that he may indeed be experiencing some sort of panic attack and would probably be hyperventilating if he happened to be breathing. Which he wasn't. He should probably look into fixing that when he could think again.

"_You_!" The boy snarled – literally! – at Kaito. "Have you no respect? Barging into my home and dirtying it, blinding me, I'll curse you for this!"

Kaito stared for a moment at the snarling, spitting little kid who had just called him _human_ which meant that the kid probably _wasn't _and really, Kaito liked to consider himself open-minded what with having had a witch in his high school classes and looking for a gem that granted immortality, but this was just way too much.

So, with that thought, Kaito's head thumped to the ground as he fainted.

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><p>Reviews always appreciated.<p> 


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